Minnesota Wild: Win over Phoenix forges a sliver of breathing room

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- A day before their most important game of the season, leaders on the Wild called a players-only team meeting in their hotel.

After absorbing a 5-1 beatdown in St. Louis on Thursday -- the team's ninth loss in 12 games -- pressure was mounting, and the Wild were slipping.

So behind veterans and leaders, a meeting was called Friday to share points of view and reiterate that the team's play of late wasn't acceptable.

Saturday night, the Wild responded. They scored three third-period goals in a crucial, come-from-behind 3-1 win over the Phoenix Coyotes to maintain their hold on the seventh seed in the Western Conference.

The veterans led the way.

Zach Parise scored the first goal and added an empty-netter, and Ryan Suter was "a horse on the back end," according to coach Mike Yeo.

The win came after four losses in five games.

"No one ever really wanted to admit it, but the pressure was mounting," Kyle Brodziak said. "We weren't getting wins. Our game felt like it was slipping away from us a little. To be able to come in probably in the biggest game of the year and put forth an effort like that says something about the group, and it's something we've got to keep building on."

The Wild entered the third period trailing 1-0 despite solid puck possession. In the final 20 minutes, they played arguably their best period all season.

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They kept the Coyotes without a shot for a span of 23 minutes between the second and third periods and controlled play.

Three minutes into the third period, the Wild were finally rewarded when Parise's quick wrister off a faceoff won by Mikko Koivu beat Phoenix goalie Thomas Greiss.

"Finally," Parise said of his thoughts after the goal. "Finally we break through. But I think just the way we went about it -- our spirits were high, and we just had that sense that we had to keep doing the same things and just hope that one was going to find the back of the net.

Minnesota Wild's Zach Parise (11) and Phoenix Coyotes' Zbynek Michalek of the Czech Republic collide behind the goal during the first period Saturday, March 29, 2014, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

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Less than five minutes later, Jared Spurgeon unleashed a hard slap shot that beat Greiss above his glove for the game-winner. Parise added an empty-netter to seal the victory.

Although Yeo said he was pleased with the entire effort, there was no hiding the impact that veterans and the team's leaders had.

"All our leaders I thought were outstanding tonight," Yeo said. "Right from the drop of the puck, I thought they were on their games. In games like this you need your leaders, you need your top guys going. But at the same time, that's not enough for (it to be) just them."

Ilya Bryzgalov put an end to a streak of subpar goaltending from the Wild. He stopped 23 shots, including a great glove save in the second period.

The defensive-based third and fourth lines excelled in what Brodziak said was one of their best defensive games of the season.

The effort came at a crucial point in the season. The Wild entered having won just three of their past 12 games. Because of that, their margin as the seventh-place team in the Western Conference had withered to one point over Phoenix.

Minnesota's victory increased that lead to three points. But ninth-place Dallas kept pace, winning in St. Louis and remaining two points outside the playoffs with a game in hand.

The Wild's path to the playoffs isn't guaranteed with Saturday's win. But it went a long way in easing frustrations and setting them up for the postseason.

Much of it started with the players-only meeting Friday.

"We had a talk amongst ourselves," Suter said. "The compete wasn't great after we got down a couple goals. We stopped playing, and that's not the way we were playing earlier in the year, so we said something. And the guys really responded all the way through the lineup."

Said Yeo: "Those guys took charge of that, and that's what you need. This time of year, the leaders really come to the forefront and take charge, and I think that they've done that."